Bonanza is so much a part of our cultural history and our TV past that its familiarity disguises the fact that the show is genuinely odd.
Of all the gun-toting lawman and loner shows that ate up the finite broadcast space of TV’s Golden Age, Bonanza drew upon standard TV Western motifs the least. In fact, the show,

November/December 2009
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
- Gunsmoke: The Third Season, Vol. 1
- Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Season One
- Warner Archival DVDs
- Gunsmoke: The Third Season, Volume 2
- Brimstone
- Death Mask
- Hard Winter
- Shooting Stars of the Small Screen
- Illustrating Wounded Knee
- Bad News for Outlaws
- A Measure of Mercy
- The Return of Roy Rogers
- Paul Newman Tribute
- Bonanza Classic Revived
More In This Issue
- How did people stay cool in the heat of the Old West?
- Were there Indian cowboys or gunmen in the Southwest?
- How long did it take a letter to be delivered via Pony Express?
- How did Indians and whites treat half-breeds on the frontier?
- What’s the story behind Earp’s Buntline Special?
- Aged Beauties
- Looping Across Kit Carson’s Southwest
- All Roads Lead to Chaco Canyon
- Preservation: Remember the Alamo (Replica)
- Homeplace Ranch
- A Historian’s Dream House
- Caleb Fox
- Bisbee, Arizona
- Christmas on the Frontier
- Defender of the Black Hills
- Indian-Inspired Fashion
- A Hair-Raising Tale
- Naco Debacle
- Trigger Happy
- My Christmas Wish List